Peterson Councilor Jake Sandeno turned in a letter of resignation to the Peterson Council at the Wednesday, August 9 meeting. The resignation was due to a newly accepted job and subsequent move out of Peterson for Sandeno.
Sandeno had run for a seat on the council last November, but did not win. When then-Councilor Chris Grindland resigned the seat to take the open city clerk position this past February, the council appointed Sandeno, the next highest vote getter, to the council seat.
A resolution declaring a vacancy was approved by the council. A replacement for the council seat will be appointed by the council at the September meeting. There are no restrictions placed on the council for filling a vacated seat and they can appoint a replacement at their discretion.
The council discussed their ongoing effort to get delinquent utility bills remedied. October 12 of last year, the council voted in favor of assessing of delinquent utility bills to property taxes. In November, the council approved a policy update that included that any bill not paid by or before the date indicated would be subject to a late fee of 1% of the past due balance would be added to the current amount due. However, the 1% is removed from the past due amount once certified to the county. The assessments are at a rate of 4%. Additional details approved in the policy stated that overdue bills to renters were ultimately payable by the property owner.
This year, 21 properties have received notification letters from the city, dated August 20, citing the delinquency. All of the past due amounts are part of a larger current amount due. Two of the 21 properties are inactive and five of the active accounts have past due amounts under $10. The overdue portion of remaining accounts range from $96.21 to $1,959.92. Total amount balances total $16,852.05, with $8,686.25 of that being the overdue portions.
One property owner is refusing to pay a $529.47 bill claiming the property was a rental vacated by the renter prior to the policy change. The city will be confirming dates. If correct, the city will have no recourse and will need to waive the overdue bill. City Clerk Chris Grindland indicated he would try and track down the renter prior to having the council waive the bill.
Councilor Loren Rue indicated the council could always take the former renter to small claims court, but no further discussion occurred. “Is there anything in our policy that says we can’t send a disconnect notice out even though we’ll be turning over past due bills to the county at the end of the year?” No additional decisions were made.
In other news, Clerk Grindland recently met with Rushford-Peterson Superintendent Chuck Ehler and R-P School Board Chairman John Linder regarding the middle school building, located in Peterson. While the athletic fields surrounding the school building reverted back to city ownership after the school district vacated the building earlier this summer, the district retains ownership of the building. The city has the option to purchase the building, but the council has indicated the city is not interested in purchasing it.
It has been determined that a weigh scale on Fillmore Street is likely owned by the city. Councilor Dave Colbenson stated he’d discussed the matter with former, long-time Peterson mayor and councilor Dick Lee. What was formerly Benson Grain, may have obtained permission from the city to install the scale some 40-60 years ago, but no records of the installation were found. “There’s no real accuracy on that,” said Colbenson. “If that’s the case, it belongs to the city. That space could be used as more diagonal parking for the city park.” A determination on ownership would be made before any street improvements could be made.
The council will consider some changes to permitting fees later this year. Currently, fences are charged per foot. Buildings and other items are charged at other rates. The permit fee is waived for buildings fewer than eight foot by ten foot, but a permit is still required.
“I would like to review this,” stated Councilor Rue, citing the investment in time taken by the council and Zoning Commission for permitted items. “I think the fees should be equitable across the board.” It is likely the matter will be discussed at the next meeting, but a final decision on the fees may not be adopted until the council’s next organizational meeting, held in early January.
Following the end of regular new business, the council moved into closed session to discuss and ongoing legal matter involving the City of Peterson versus Gary and Shirley Quarve. The issue is over zoning violations on the Quarve property.
The next regularly scheduled council meeting is Wednesday, September 13, at 6 p.m., at city hall. The public is encouraged to attend.
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